Friday, August 25, 2006

Did you lose your mind all at once, or was it a slow, gradual process?

Stop. Please. I beg you.

First there was BDS or "Bush Derangement Syndrome." The right-wing shorthand for an unreasonable hatred of President Bush. (Unreasonable as defined by any sort of criticism whatsoever.) Fair enough. I'm sure all of the inmates at the asylum consider the guards and doctors deranged as well. "Can't those deranged fools see I really AM Teddy Roosevelt?"

But it struck me while reading this article by Jonah Goldberg who coins the term "Wal Mart Derangement Syndrome (WMDS)" that the whole use of "derangement syndrome" by conservatives has seriously spun out of control. A quick Google of the term confirmed my suspicion. I found "Rove Derangement Syndrome," "Christianity Derangement Syndrome" and "Israel Derangement Syndrome," all on the first page. Do I have to point out that when your primary counter-argument to political opponents is to label them deranged it really doesn't say a lot of positive things about the strength of your position to begin with?

We've seen this show a dozen times. Please, I beg you- come up with some new material or get off the stage. You're embarrassing yourself and you're boring the hell out of the audience.